It is known in the art that through mount connectors having contacts with fine tail pitch have been prone to bending or stubbing during insertion of the connector into a printed circuit board (PCB). This problem can be overcome by properly aligning the contact tails with the corresponding PCB holes before insertion so that they do not stub during insertion. Another problem is damage caused by handling prior to PCB insertion. This problem can be overcome by protecting the contacts during shipping and handling.
Additionally, some through mount connectors include rivets or screws that are used to attach the connector to the PCB before soldering. These connectors are known to be difficult to manufacture. To address this concern, connectors with fasteners such as interference hold-downs have been introduced to eliminate the need for screws or rivets. It is known that approximately 6-30 pounds of force is needed to press this type of connector into the PCB. With this type of connector, alignment of the contact tails with the corresponding receiving holes is important because this amount of force does not allow for tactile feed back of the contacts either entering or not entering the PCB holes. Thus, any contact tail that is not properly aligned with the corresponding hole, can be bent or even destroyed when force is applied to press the connector hold-downs into the PCB. Significantly, the user is typically unaware that any of the contact tails have been damaged until after the connector has been seated on the board.
To reduce the incidence of contact tail bending, alignment devices have been used with both vertical and right angle through mount connectors to hold the contact tails in alignment with the corresponding PCB holes before the connector is pressed onto the PCB. The alignment devices known in the art, however, are typically inside the connector housing, with the contact tails extending away from the alignment device. As the mounting ends of the contact tails extend farther away from the alignment device, they can be, and often are, farther out of alignment due to larger angular displacement and spring back. In addition, a longer cantilevered beam is less rigid than a shorter cantilevered beam and is more prone to misalignment.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an alignment device for a through mount connector that improves the alignment of the contact tails with the corresponding PCB holes by preventing the contact tails from extending away from the alignment device before insertion, thereby reducing the incidence of contact tail bending during insertion.